Jane Stillwater is a freelance journalist, war correspondent, blogger, political Cassandra and author of "Bring Your Own Flak Jacket: Helpful Tips for Touring Today's Middle East," now available on Amazon.com. Her latest motto is "Stop Wall Street and War Street from destroying our world."

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Hogan's Heroes: Have Americans become like Nazis? Nah. Our Senate ratified an Attorney General who supports the use of torture. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Our Pentagon blitzkrieged Baghdad. 100,000 people are dead. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Our hearts and minds are constantly brainwashed by pro-war propaganda machines. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Our dissidents are hauled off to secret jails, free speech is in deep dog dookie, the Bill of Rights is a relic of the past, U.S. citizens are denied lawyers and held for years without being charged and PTECH and PROMIS invade people's computers and data-mine people's lives. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Election fraud is rampant, corporations own our country, labor unions are hounded and all our country's money is being siphoned off to feed the war machine. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Education is being de-funded, teachers are fired for expressing opinions, books are being burned, libraries are being closed and our leaders appear at Nuremberg-style rallies where the average citizen is banned. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Freedom of religion is being systematically eradicated, people are being persecuted solely on the basis of their religion, women's rights are being replaced with "Kirche, Kueche, Kinder" and racism is alive and well. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Our leaders feed us outrageous lies like Iraq has WMDs, Social Security is in trouble, the voting machines weren't tampered with, Saudi Arabia is our friend, unemployment is at a new low, our treasury isn't bankrupt, Tom DeLay didn't commit ethics violations, Gulf War Syndrome doesn't exist, Bush actually won the 2000 and 2004 elections, Palestine isn't a reinactment of the Warsaw Ghetto, liberals are the enemy, outsourcing is a good thing, flipping burgers is a manufacturing job, the dollar hasn't dropped 40% in the last four years and SYRIA is the cause of all our grief. SYRIA? As Hitler used to say, "No one believes small lies but tell Big Lies and everyone will believe you because they simply can't grasp the fact that anyone would lie that outrageously." And we, the Queens of Denial, swallow all these Big Lies and beg for more. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Our brave young troops are taught how to torture prisoners and our doctors perform "medical experiments" on them. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

Our government gets its way by using threats, intimidation, propaganda, bribes, secrets and lies. We as citizens live in constant fear of saying something that might get us in trouble -- rubber bullets if we protest, no-fly lists, website closures or getting fired for speaking out. The midnight knock on the door is an actual possibility. So is the mysterious plane crash. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

There are rumors everywhere that 9-11, like the burning of the Reichstag, was an inside job but nobody except the Jersey Girls mounts a serious investigation. Nobody except the Jersey Girls seems to care. Does that make us Nazis? Nah.

That makes us "Good Germans".

Sometimes I feel like I'm on the Hogan's Heroes show, utterly surrounded by a sea of Americans who think it's okay -- not even okay but ethical, moral and brilliant! -- to torture and lie and steal. I feel like Colonel Hogan, burrowing from within while the rest of America actually applauds and cheers torture, blitzkrieg and mass murder.

Yuck!

Am I the only one left in America who notices this kind of crap? Am I the only one left in America with ideals? Where is Kinch? Where is Newkirk? Where is Carter? Where is LeBeau? All of America should be out protesting these blatant outrages. At best we only have Sergeant Schultz muttering "I know nuthing!"

Everyone in America seems to be rushing to play the part of Helga or Hilda or Colonel Klink -- living their lives in fear of standing up. "But if I say anything, they will send me to the front!"

No fear of that here, America. If Bush keeps up his current policies, the same thing that happened to Germany will happen here -- the "front" will come to us.